Protected by Ice
by Haruhi Smith
Summary: Hinamori Momo always knew that her childhood friend was too protective of her. But how far would he go for her? Read to find out! Not really any pairings, rated T just in case. Enjoy! Complete
1. Modifications

**Dunno where I got the idea for this, but I hope you like it! (I don't own Bleach, by the way)**

**Summary: Hinamori Momo always knew that her precious Shiro-chan was over protective of her. But to what extent is his protectiveness?**

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><p>The young shinigami's breaths came out in clouds against the cold, frosty air. She was tired of this, and she didn't want to fight anymore. Looking up, she saw the sight that made her heart twist with pain, a pain that felt like a hundred swords stabbing her at the same time. "S-Shiro-chan," she stammered, hoping to bring the young taicho back to his senses. But it was no use. In front of her was Hitsugaya Toshiro, bankai unleashed, and about to use it on her.<p>

~Flashback~

"_Shiro-chan! Can I come in?" came a voice from outside the tenth division's office door. The captain inside sighed._

"_Come in, bed-wetter Momo!" he called as the door slid open to reveal the fukutaichio of the fifth division, Hinamori Momo._

"_Jeez, you're so mean, Shiro-chan! You still call me that name after all these years!"_

"_Well, you still call me 'Shiro-chan', don't you?" came the respond. "Let's not start that argument again, though. What did you come for?"  
>"Well, actually…Yamamoto-sotaicho has asked us to go out and exterminate a hollow together…"<em>

_The white haired shinigami raised an eyebrow. "Why did he call us two?" he asked. "Weren't there other available people?"_

"_This hollow is different!" Hinamori replied, waving her hands in the air as if to prove a point. "The captain-commander said it controls minds, and the only way to defeat it is to have perfect teamwork!"_

"_Who said we have perfect teamwork?" came the remark from Hitsugaya._

"_Mou! Anyways, this is a mission given by the Sotaicho himself! We can't ignore it! Ukitake-taicho is sick, so he can't go out with Kyoraku-taicho, and no one else left works well with each other…"  
>"..I understand," the chibi taicho said, a little reluctant to get away from his paperwork. He stood up, and readjusted Hyorinmaru on his back. "Let's go."<em>

_oOo_

_When the two arrived at where the hollow was last sighted in the southern part of Rukongai, Hitsugaya immediately found its reiatsu, and they began to pursue it, hoping to quickly get the job of killing it done. When they finally reached the point where they could tell that it was nearby, they stopped._

"_Hinamori," Hitsugaya said suddenly, assessing their situation._

"_What is it, Hitsugaya-kun?"_

"_You said this is a mind controlling hollow, right?"_

"_H-hai.."_

"_Don't give in to it if it tries to reach your mind," the tenth division captain said, eyes narrowing as a bush in front of him rustled. He felt the hollow's spiritual pressure suddenly raise, and he was hurtled into a world of black. The last thing the small captain saw was the looming face of a hollow hurtling out of the bush, and its menacing grin as it took over his body and activated his bankai._

"_Shiro-chan!"_

~End of Flashback~

Hinamori Momo took one step back as her childhood friend began to race towards her, and spine-chilling smile on his face. "Stop it, Shiro-chan!" she screamed, tears starting to form in her eyes. "Don't let him control you!" But it was no use. The hollow, now in Hitsugaya's body, had reached the lieutenant and already had his sword raised to make the killing blow. "Time to die!" it screamed in a voice that was not the voice of Hitsugaya Toshiro, but a deep voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. "Ruysen-"

The name of the attack was cut off as the figure in front of Hinamori suddenly staggered, a torrent of blood spurting out of it's mouth.

"You bastard! What did you do?" the hollow screamed as it's life was extinguished, leaving the white haired captain's body to collapse. Hinamori rushed forwards to catch it before it hit the ground.

"Shiro-chan! Are you OK?"

After coughing up an excess amount of blood, Hitsugaya took a shaky breath and looked into his childhood friend's eyes with dull, turquoise eyes. "G-good…" he said in almost a whisper. "It worked…"

More tears were pouring down the fukutaicho's face. "What worked, Shiro-chan? You're coughing out blood! Don't speak; I'll call Unohana-taicho immediately!"

Slowly, the young captain shook his head. "It's too late," he said in his raspy voice, then smiled slightly. "But that Kurotsuchi finally did something worth mentioning."

Hinamori stared questions at her childhood friend, though tears were still running down her pale cheeks.

"I-I made him modify my body so that my organs would self destruct if I ever raised my sword against you, and it was against my will."

The truth hit the young vice-captain like a typhoon, and she dropped to her knees, still clutching Hitsugaya's body to her chest. "No!" she screamed, more tears dripping to the ground. "Shiro-chan!"

oOo

Later, in Soul Society, Unohana Retsu came out of the patient room in the fourth division, now labeled 'Hitsugaya Toshiro', blood staining her haori. The captain of the fourth walked over to Hinamori, who had been sitting on a bench outside the room. "We have fixed his organs, but he is still in danger," she said. "They were, well, torn apart, and there's no telling if he'll live…"

Unohana held the shaking body of Hinamori as sobs rang throughout the division.

But exactly twenty two hours and five minutes later, a machine in the patient's room beeped, an eerie sound that pierced through the silence. Hitsugaya's heart, which had just begun to heal properly, had stopped.

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><p><strong>So did you like it? Please tell me your feelings about it. I don't care if you liked it or hated it, just give me your opinion. And I'd appreciate it if you gave me suggestions, too, because I really need to know how to continue this story. :D See you next time!<strong>


	2. Pulling Through

**I've been sick with writer's block, so I wrote this chapter on a whim DX sorry for the late update, I could've updated sooner, but I didn't. And thanks to everyone for the reviews and favorites!**

**I don't own Bleach! If I did, it would be a LOT different.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>As Matsumoto Rangiku, lieutenant of the tenth division, hurried to the hallway outside of the operating room in the fourth division, she heard sobs. They weren't just quiet sobs, they were heartbreaking wails full of sadness and worry. The shinigami stopped at her destination to find a crying Hinamori Momo outside of the room. Rangiku quickly walked over to the smaller girl and hugged her tightly.<p>

"I'm sure taicho will be fine," she assured her fellow fukutaicho. "He'll pull through, you'll see!"

"B-but his heart stopped!" Hinamori cried into Matsumoto's shoulder through her broken sobs. "How can you be sure?"

Though her eyes were also slightly teary, Matsumoto smiled fondly down at the small girl. "I'm sure he'll pull through," she said. "Because if he doesn't, he'll never see you again. He'll make it for your sake."

Slowly, the young fukutaicho raised her head and smiled slightly at Matsumoto. "I guess you're right," she said, wiping away a tear and breaking away from Rangiku's embrace.

As minutes passed, the two sat next to each other, shooting anxious glances at the door, hearts full of worry for the captain of the tenth division. A hell butterfly suddenly fluttered by and disappeared through the white doors of the operating room. A few moments later, Unohana-taicho came out, looking tired, but otherwise satisfied. The two fukutaichos outside of the room quickly stood up.

"H-how is he?" Rangiku asked, hoping that the captain of the fourth division would bring good news.

The captain smiled slightly. "We've got his heart pumping again," she said. "There should be nothing to be worried about. There is a captain's meeting right now, so I need to hurry there. Don't worry; Isane is looking after Hitsugaya-taicho. She'll call you two in soon so that you can see him; she just needs to tidy the room up a bit."

Hinamori sighed in relief and smiled up at the two other women. "That's great!" she said. "Hitsugaya-kun is fine, just like you said, Matsumoto-san!"

Matsumoto grinned back at the lieutenant. "I told you, didn't I? And how many times have I told you that you can call me 'Rangiku'?"

Once the two were done with their small conversation, Unohana-taicho bowed to the two lieutenants. "I'll be leaving now," she said. "I'll be back as soon as the meeting is over."

The two waved to the disappearing figure in relief, then sat back down and sighed in happiness.

oOo

As soon as all of the captains were gathered in the first division's quarters, the meeting of the taichos of the Gotei 13 finally started.

"Why'd we have to have a meeting at a time like this?" came a growl from one end of the room. "My fight just got interesting."

All of the other captains sighed as they looked at the captain of the eleventh division. Could he do anything but fight?

"We are here to discuss an important matter," Yamamoto-sotaicho said, eyes glaring at Zaraki. "Kurotsuchi Mayuri, captain of the twelfth division, please step forward."

Face masked with a little confusion, the captain did as he was told.

"As we all know, I sent the captain Hitsugaya Toshiro and lieutenant Hinamori Momo on a mission to kill a hollow two days ago. The hollow was killed, but Hitsugaya-taicho was severely injured."

"What does that have to do with me?" came the reply from Kurotsuchi-taicho, looking at the sotaicho, his head cocked.

"Hinamori-fukutaicho informed me that Hitsugaya-taicho had you 'slightly' adjust his body. Is that true?"

"What? I can't do something that a fellow captain of mine requests me to do?" came the sarcastic reply.

"**Why didn't you inform me of this**?" the captain commander asked in a demanding voice, eyes fixed on Mayuri's.

"Why? It was just a simple modification of…" the captain began to rant off about science and things that the other captains couldn't comprehend.

"**Shut up**!" came the irritated voice of the captain-commander. "I don't care if it was simple or not. The fact is, you modified another taicho's body without telling anybody!"

Kurotsuchi Mayuri stepped backward slightly, taken aback by Yamamoto's words. "I _did _tell Nemu…"

The sotaicho's death glare made the captain shut up. "Is this 'effect' still in function? If Hitsugaya-taicho attacks Hinamori-fukutaicho against his will again, will the same thing happen again."

"That is correct," came the nonchalant reply.

"That isn't right!" Ukitake-taicho stepped forward, looking at his fellow captain. "You should have known that it isn't right to modify someone like that, even if they want it!"

"You don't need to get so agitated," Kyoraku-taicho said to his friend. "This guy couldn't see common sense even if it danced like a drunkard in front of his face."

The captain of the thirteenth division sighed and tried to calm down his emotions.

"We just need to make sure that it never happens again, right?" Soifon said from her side of the room, shooting glares at everyone as if they were all defying her.

All of the other taichos stared at her. "She does have a point…" Komamura said, scratching his chin.

"Yeah. We just make sure that Hitsugaya-taicho doesn't get put in a situation where he will get controlled and have to kill Hinamori. Right?" Soifon looked up at the sotaicho.

As the captain commander thought, the tension in the air increased, and it felt as though all of the air in the room was being sucked out into the hallway outside. Slowly, the captain commander nodded, eyes widening slightly. "You are all dismissed," he said. "I will discuss with my lieutenant about this situation." All of the captains seemingly disappeared, all shumpo-ing out of the room as quickly as they had came.

oOo

Meanwhile, in the fourth division, Matsumoto and Hinamori had both gone into the operating room, and were gazing down at the unconscious form of Hitsugaya-taicho, Isane-fukutaicho standing in the corner of the room just in case there were any bad turns in the captain's condition. The lieutenant of the fourth division's eyes light up as she saw the figure of her taicho coming forwards into the small operating room.

"Taicho!" she called, racing out of the room to meet Unohana-taicho. "How was the meeting?"  
>"It's nothing for you to worry about," the captain said, smiling. "How is Hitsugaya-taicho's condition? I assume that everything is stable now?"<p>

"Y-yes," Isane replied. "His heart is stable now, and there has been no change in his state. He's still unconscious, of course, and his organs are still quite weak, but other than that, he's fine."

Unohana-taicho smiled again, and then headed into the room. "Good," she said. "Let's move Hitsugaya-taicho back to his room now and let him have some peace and quiet."

The two wheeled the snowy haired taicho's bed back into the room at the end of the hallway, and the other two lieutenant's followed, stopping outside the door. When the bed was secured in the room, Unohana-taicho walked out, Isane following her. "We'll leave him to have some sleep," the captain said to the two lieutenants outside. "You are free to go inside, but only one at a time." Giving a smile, Unohana-taicho began to walk back to the fourth divisions' office. "I will be in my office if anything happens, as will Isane."

As the two disappeared in the distance, Matsumoto gently pushed the smaller lieutenant into Hitsugaya-taicho's room. "Now, go in!" she said. "I'll go back to my division to do some paperwork." The fukutaicho winced at the word _paperwork_, and turned to leave the division. "Make sure to call me with a hell butterfly when he wakes up!"

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><p><strong>So I wrote a filler chapter after hours of wondering what to write. Please tell me your thoughts on it! I'd also be grateful if you offered some ideas for the next chapter~ I'm still contemplating on how to direct this story~<strong>

**See you next time!**


	3. Peace

**Here it is~ Thanks to everyone for all the review and favorites and watches! I still don't know where this plot is really going, but I'll probably get on track sooner or later. I'm planning on starting an IchiHitsu AU fic, where it's basically like Bakuman, with Ichigo wanting to make a manga together with Hitsugaya! I'll probably be juggling three fanfics at the same time, so it might be a little trouble. [Not that I mind] I'm also going to start publishing Bleach fanfiction chapters the day Bleach episodes come out (So that's six o'clock PM in Japan on Tuesdays). Of course, I'll also publish them when I have time [Like right now]. Enjoy!**

**I don't own Bleach…**

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><p>A single machine beeped in the small hospital room. On a chair sat Hinamori Momo, the lieutenant of the fifth division, looking down at her childhood friend, the captain of the tenth, Hitsugaya Toshiro. "Shiro-chan…" the small girl whispered softly as she stroked the boy's soft white hair. "Please wake up soon. Everybody's worried about you. Matsumoto-san and Ukitake-taicho already sent in dozens of hell butterflies to see if you were conscious." A small shudder went through the fukutaicho's body as she felt her eyes grow hot and wet with tears. Quickly, she wiped them away with her other hand. "This won't do…" she said quietly, wiping her fingers on her shihakusho.<p>

"W-what won't do?" asked a raspy and tired voice.

Hinamori's head shot up, looking down at her friend. "Sh-Shiro-chan?"

Slowly, dull teal eyes cracked open, looking sideways at the girl. "Y-yo…"

His awakening had made Momo cry even more, though she tried not to shed the tears that blurred her vision, making him look like a giant blob of whiteness. "I'm so glad you're awake!" she said after a few heartbeats, bending down to give him a small hug.

The taicho smiled slightly at the embrace, eyes beginning to focus more. "How long have I been unconscious?"

Hinamori quickly glanced at the clock on the wall, realizing that she had not checked the time for some time. "Um…" she said, quickly calculating the amount of time in her head. "About sixteen hours."

The young captain abruptly tried to sit up, but then winced in pain and fell back onto his bed again. "Curses!" he said. "I have to go back to my office and finish off that paperwork-"

Hinamori smiled down a little sadly at her childhood friend. "Gomen, Shiro-chan, but Unohana-taicho doesn't want you leaving for at least a couple more weeks. She said that you're too hurt. And Matsumoto-san actually said that she would go do some paperwork, so I think she will…"

Hitsugaya snorted. "That means she didn't."  
>"Mou! Shiro-chan, you should trust your sub coordinate more. She's been really worried about you, you know!"<p>

Sitting up, Momo realized that she forgot to send hell butterflies to both Matsumoto and Ukitake, and that she should probably go get Unohana as well.

"Oy! What's wrong, bed-wetter Momo?"

Hinamori stood up and turned around, bowing slightly to Hitsugaya. "Sorry, Shiro-chan, but I have to go tell Unohana-taicho, Ukitake-taicho and Matsumoto-san that you're awake; I promised. I'll be back soon; Unohana-taicho will probably want to check you up anyways. And don't call me bed-wetter Momo! I haven't wetted the bed since entering the Shinigami Academy!"

"Then don't call me Shiro-chan," came the irritated voice.

Momo smiled, knowing that if Hitsugaya had the strength to tease her, then he was going to be OK. "Well, I'll go get them, so stay here, and **don't try to leave**. I'll even bind you with kido if you so much as think about it."

Sighing, the chibi taicho decided not to push his luck, as Hinamori was a very skilled kido master. "Okay, okay, stop nagging me about that and go!"

oOo

A few minutes later, Ukitake Jushiro and Matusmoto Rangiku rushed to the fourth division, bumping to each other on the way.

"Oh, Matsumoto-fukutaicho! I assume you're also on your way to go see Shiro-chan?" the white haired captain asked.

Matsumoto nodded, a giant smile on her face. "Of course! Momo-chan said that he's doing well, even after what happened to him…"

The captain of the thirteenth division smiled at the lieutenant as they reached the fourth division and raced down the hallway to find Hinamori standing outside of a room, a small smile on her face.

"Hinamori-fukutaicho! How is he doing?" Ukitake called out to the small lieutenant, bowing politely in her direction.

"He was doing fine," Momo replied, her smile widening. "He was talking already, and even had the strength to tease me!"

"That's great!" Matsumoto butted into the quiet conversation quite loudly, just as the door marked 'Hitsugaya' slid open to reveal Unohana-taicho, Isane just behind her.

"Is he OK?" the busty lieutenant asked quickly.

The kind captain of the fourth division smiled. "Yes," she said. "Even though his heart is a little weak, it won't put him in a critical condition any time soon. I want him to stay here for two more weeks, and if he's feeling fine after that, he can go back to the tenth division quarters."

Unohana-taicho smiled and started walking down the hallway back to her office, Isane following close by, turning around to smile to the group of three as she left. "You all can go in," she said. "Just don't make too much noise or I'll have to kick you out."

The three smiled in respect at the lieutenant of the fourth, then turned and slowly walked into the room.

He was sitting up, propped up by a number of pillows piled behind his back. Hearing the sound of other footsteps, Hitsugaya Toshiro lifted his head to check out the visitors.

"Hi, Ukitake, Matsumoto."

"Hitsugay-taicho!" Ukitake cried at the same time as Matsumoto yelled "Taicho!" The two stepped forwards to greet the icy captain.

"Hitsugaya-taicho, how are your injuries? Do you feel any pain?"

Hitsugaya quickly shook his head. "I'm fine," he said, not wanting to admit that his chest was burning slightly with pain. He had too much pride to submit to pain.

"Taicho, I'm so glad that you're alive!" Matsumoto bounded forward, pressing her boobs onto his face. "I was really worried when all of your organs got messed up, but when your heart stopped beating I- I thought you were going to die!"  
>"Matsumoto," came Hitsugaya's muffled voice. "If you suffocate me like this, I <em>am<em> going to die! Get off me this instant."  
>"Oops." Matsumoto quickly leaped away from her captain, blinking innocently.<p>

Ukitake laughed, and his laughter was soon joined by Hinamori's, and then Matsumoto's. Seein the three laughing like that, the icy captain of the tenth division smiled a rare smiled, which made the three's smiles even bigger, and they all stood there laughing for a while. After chatting for about ten minutes, Ukitake glanced up to look at the clock and turned to leave the room.

"Sorry, Hitsugaya-taicho, Matsumoto-fukutaicho, Hinamori-fukitaicho, but I must be heading back to my division now. I was in the middle of some paperwork that I would prefer to get done today, and it is a little late. I'll be leaving now."

Quickly, the captain of the thirteenth division shunpo-ed out of the room, leaving Matsumoto and Hinamori to be with the chibi taicho.

Hitsugaya seemed to sit up straighter at the word 'paperwork'. "By the way, Matsumoto," he said suddenly. "Did you do any of the paperwork you said you were going to?"

"Eh? When did I ever say that, taicho?" Matsumoto blinked her blue eyes, looking at Hitsugaya in fake confusion.

"Y-you don't remember, Matsumoto-san?" Hinamori asked. "You said you were heading off to do some paperwork yesterday, and left me here to look after Hitsugaya-kun!"

"Oh yeah, about that, well, I ran into Shuhei and Kira on the way back to the office, so-"

The lieutenant was cut off as she felt her captain's reiatsu rising until the room had turned several degrees cooler, and icicles were forming on the ceiling. "**Matsumoto**!"

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><p><strong>Gehe. Taicho's mad. XD How'd you like it? I'll probably get the plot moving in the next chapter, hopefully we'll get some action with Hitsugaya and Hinamori. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter done by Tuesday at six. See you then!<strong>


	4. Getting Out

**I MISSED THE DEADLINE. *kills self* Nah. I'm not suicidal. It's past 6 PM in my time zone, and definitely in Japan. But it hasn't in some parts of the world, so I feel like I haven't failed completely. :D**

**Gonna make another IchiHitsu fanfic before my idea about the making of a manga, but I forgot what it was going to be about. Don't worry! Even if I forget, I'll….I'll compromise. Enjoy! I don't own Bleach, by the way.**

The past couple weeks had gone very well for a certain captain of the tenth division, even though he had been constantly bothered by Matsumoto's sudden (and rather loud) visits. They consisted mostly of her complaining and him sitting there glaring at her. And then there was Ukitake. Every time he visited, which was quite often, he would bring a new kind of snack, apparently supplied from Ichigo in the real world. The only time he actually had a peaceful visit was when Unohana-taicho came to check up on him, or when Hinamori came to see how he was doing. Usually she stayed for a couple hours, sometimes even for whole nights. And now, after two weeks, the young taicho was finally getting his final check up, ready to leave the confinement that came in the form of the fourth division.

"Everything seems fine, Hitsugaya-taicho," Unohana was saying. "You can go as soon as I finish checking a few more things."

Not bothering to answer, the snowy haired captain looked down as Unohana took a blood sample from his arm.

"That's it," she said. "I just took a little blood to analyze, but you can go and come back for the results in a few days."

The captain of the fourth division stood back from the bed to let her fellow captain get off and stand on the ground next to the bed. "Thanks," he muttered, heading for the door.

"Oh, and one more thing, Hitsugaya-taicho."

Unohana's voice made the young prodigy turn around. "What?"

"Don't do anything foolish. I know Hinamori-fukutaicho is important to you, but you should protect her without putting your own life in danger. Do you think she would be happy if you died protecting her?"

Hitsugaya turned around again, facing the open door that lead to the hallway outside, ignoring Unohana-taicho's words. "Whatever…"

oOo

Back in the tenth division, things weren't looking too good, unless you called three passed out and drunk vice captains on the floor good. When Hitsugaya arrived at the doorway of _his_ office, he could smell alcohol. Putting on a glare, he slid the door open with a loud _whoosh_.

"**Matsumoto**!" he yelled, walking over to his fukutaicho and flicking her forehead. Hard.

"Nngh…taicho?" Rangiku opened one of her blue eyes lazily and blinked sleepily, slowly sitting up. "I thought you weren't getting out until tomorrow…"

"Idiot! Even if I _was_ discharged tomorrow, you still shouldn't be dragging other lieutenants into our office and loading them with sake!"  
>"Heh…but it's fun, taicho! Do you want to join us next time?"<br>"No." Came the immediate answer.

"Taicho, you're no fun at all!"

Matsumoto regretted her words as the room dropped to below freezing temperatures. "OK, OK, I'll get them out of here and back to their divisions now! Why don't you go see Momo-chan, taicho? I bet she's anxious to see you up and about again."

"Are you sure you won't be fooling around?" Hitsugaya asked, the room starting to warm up again.

Matsumoto nodded fervently, eyes almost as serious as her captain's.

"All right. I'll see you at four o'clock here, then."

oOo

When the child prodigy had reached the fifth division's office, he could hear nothing, only the occasional sound of rustling of paper. Not bothering to knock, he silently slid open the door.

"Yo, bed-wetter Momo."

Startled, the small lieutenant jumped out of her seat, turning around. "Shiro-chan! Mou, don't just barge into people's offices like that! You hardly ever come down here, and when you do, you never knock! How many times have I told you- Wait, you're out of the fourth division?"

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. "Don't call me Shiro-chan," eh said. "And of course I'm out. If I wasn't, would I be here?"

"Well-"

"That doesn't matter. Are you doing well?"

"Yes," the vice captain smiled, standing up to talk to her childhood friend. "Most of my paperwork is finished, I was about to finish up for the day."

The young captain sighed. "That's like the complete opposite of my division," he said. "Matsumoto let Kira and Hisagi into the office again. I went back and the three of them were passed out all over the place."

Momo laughed. "That's sounds just like Matsumoto-san," she said. "Although I do know that she managed to get _some_ paperwork done. Only a day's worth, but that's pretty good, right?"

"…right."

Hinamori smiled again. "Well, I'm going to call it a day and head back to my quarters. Do you want some amanatto? I just bought some at the store in Rukongai yesterday."

Hitsugaya grinned one of his rare grins. "Of course," he said, already making his way out of the door.

oOo

Hitsugaya smiled to himself as he walked back to his office. Having a chat with Momo always cheered him up, especially when there was amanatto to go with it. He sighed as the thought of what he would have to face once he got back. He wondered if Matsumoto had really taken the two vice captains back, or if they were still there, lying around his office. When he arrived, he could still smell the stench of alcohol in the air, but it wasn't as strong as before. Hopefully that meant that Matsumoto had gotten rid of all of the sake bottles littering the floor and desks of the tenth division office. Taking a deep breath, he choked slightly on the smell of the alcohol, and slid the door open. Matsumoto was sitting on her desk. Though she had some paperwork stacked on her desk and a brush at her side, all inked and ready to be written with, she wasn't writing.

"Matsumoto, what are you doing?"

"Oh, taicho! Jeez, I can never tell when you're approaching. If you let some of your reiatsu leak out, at least I can tell when I should start getting ready for your arrival…"

"…" Hitsugaya walked over to his desk, crossing his arms and then sitting down, taking out a bottle of ink, a brush and taking a stack of paperwork from the couch, which was now covered in paper rather than drunk vice captains.

"Now do your work."

**Short chapter D: But I literally only had thirty minutes, so I had to rush a little. I might get two chapters published after that, and they will definitely have action, I PROMISE. How'd you like this one? I like writing conversations between Hitsugaya and Hinamori, they're cute. See you next time!**


	5. Attack

**Hey guys, what's up? I'm gonna start replying to reviews now because I feel bad if you guys are just writing up encouragements and I'm ignoring them D: Because I'm basically writing this story for you guys :D Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm including some of the promised action~**

**I don't own Bleach. Duh.**

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><p>Hinamori Momo smiled to herself as she passed by the tenth division's office on her way to the first division to make a report to the sotaicho. Hitsugaya's voice could be clearly heard from behind the door, as he shouted "Matsutmoto!" over and over again in an irritated voice. <em>Shiro-chan's back to normal…<em>she thought as she made her way down the corridor. The lieutenant thought back to when all her childhood friend did was sit or lie in bed for two weeks, doing nothing. That hadn't been a fun experience for the small captain _or_ the members of the fourth division. As she reached the tall and overwhelming doors that led to Yamamoto's office, she wiped her grin off her face and tried to look serious. "Sotaicho-dono, this is Hinamori Momo, fukutaicho of the fifth division, coming in for a status report."

oOo

Meanwhile, Matsumoto was standing in a nightmare that had come to her in the form of her captain. "Matsumoto," the prodigy said, eyebrows lowering. The air was getting colder, and the lieutenant of the tenth could swear that frost was creeping up the windows of the office, despite the hot summer air outside. "How many times have I told you that you **cannot **store your drinks in my desk drawers anymore!"

Matsumoto put on a pouting face. "But taicho, my desk hardly has any space left, and if I keep them in my house, I can't drink them whenever I want!"

A nerve bulged on the young captains head, and soon the office was covered in a thin sheet of ice. "That's exactly why I don't want _any_ sake bottles in this office now take your drinks and get out!"

Swiftly, the captain of the tenth picked up his vice captain by the collar of her shihakusho and threw her out of the room without much effort. He picked up her bottles as well, and dumped them outside next to his whining fukutaicho. "Come back when you've gotten rid of _all _of the sake, and I don't mean by drinking it. Make sure I never see another bottle in the office again."

"But tai-" the busty woman's words were cut off when the door was slid shut and she was left sitting in the hallway with a bunch of sake bottles. Sighing, the lieutenant picked herself up and looked around. "I guess there's no one else around here to help…oh!" Matsumoto's eyes lit up as she saw a certain fukutaicho walking down the hallway in her direction.

"Momo-chan!" she called.

The small girl looked up and saw her friend. "Rangiku-san, hi! Why are you sitting outside your office…surrounded by sake bottles?"

Matsumoto sighed. "It's a long story," she said, then grinned a mischievous grin. "Want to help me get rid of all this sake?"

Hinamori took a small step back. "I'm sorry, Rangiku-san, but I'm afraid I don't drink…"

The busty woman sighed again. "You should be sorry," she said. "You're missing out on so much. Anyways, would you like to come with me and get rid of them anyways? You don't have to drink, at least help me carry some!"

The brown haired girl bent down and picked up as many of the bottles as she could. "All right," she said. "But I have to come back here later; I have something to discuss with Shiro-chan."

Matsumoto's eyes widened as she heard the other's words. Quickly, she pried all of the sake containers from Hinamori's eyes. "In that case," she said. "I'll throw them away by myself, even though it would be a waste…" The lieutenant stepped away, arms full of bottles. Before turning around, she winked at the fukutaicho of the fifth. "Don't keep him waiting!"

oOo

Quietly, Hinamori slid the door open to a crack taking a peek inside before finally sliding it all the way open and stepping inside.

"Oh, Matsumoto? Back so soo-" Hitsugaya's words were cut off and he realized that the figure in the doorway was not his lazy vice captain, but Hinamori Momo. "Hinamori? What are you doing here?"

The bun-girl looked down, her face tinged with the slightest drink. "Well, I bumped into Rangiku-san outside, and she wanted me to carry the sake bottles. I told her that we should come back here soon because I wanted to talk to you, but that was just an excuse. For some reason she suddenly took all of the bottles and left."

"…" There was no response from the snowy haired captain of the tenth.

"How's your paperwork going?" Hinamori brought up suddenly, trying her best to start up a conversation.

"…okay."

Silence followed, but the quietness was soon broken by a foot crashing in through the roof, slicing the calm office cleanly in two. **[A/N: Not very creative π.π sorry….]**

oOo

Matsumoto Rangiku knew that her captain was going to kill her. No, he was going to _rip her apart._ But she didn't care, because as long as he was in the company of Hinamori Momo, he wasn't going to go anywhere. Smiling to herself, she stepped outside of the ninth division. Walking into the office, she spotted Kira, Hisagi and Renji all conveniently sitting at one of the tables. She walked up to them, her arms still full of sake bottles. "Yo, you guys!"

oOo

Hinamori's eyes widened as a white foot covered her vision as she was separated from her childhood friend. "Shiro-chan!" she called through the noise of cracking wood. The foot lifted to reveal Hitsugaya lying on the ground, clutching his left arm. He let his arm go and raced over to the small, brown haired girl. "Hinamori!" he said. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, and his face relaxed a little, but then grew tense as he looked up at the sky. "Look," he said, his facial expression tensing once again. Towering above them were countless Gillian Menos. Sighing, the captain unclenched his right hand from his apparently injured arm and unsheathed Hyorinmaru. "This shouldn't be a problem," he said. "The only problem is the number of them, but I bet others will come here soon as well. We should defeat as many as we can, in the mean time."

Understanding, Hinamori nodded, taking out Tobiume. The two backed up so that they each faced a group of the Menos.

"Snap, Tobiume!"

"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!"

And the air was filled with the fire and ice of the two zanpakuto, surrounding the Menos, and killing them instantly.

oOo

_Alert! A large group of Gillian Menos has surrounded the tenth division's quarters! Available captains, please hurry to the mentioned location immediately!_

Upon hearing the message from the hell butterfly, Ukitake Jushiro looked up from his paperwork, face filled with concern for his favorite Shiro-chan, who would obviously be caught up in the mess. Quickly, he stood up and shumpo'd away to the tenth division. He raced through the twelfth and eleventh division, and quickly reached Hitsugaya's now destroyed office. The air had a warm yet cold feeling to it, and there were no Menos' in sight. Confused, the captain looked around, spotting the captain of the tenth division sitting on a ruined chair, holding his arm rather tightly with a pained look on his face, and Hinamori Momo standing next to him with a concerned look on her face. Ukitake quickly dashed towards the two. "What happened here?"

**~*~*~*~*~ [A/N: Means we're entering a flashback xD]**

_The air in front of Hinamori was warm, yet behind her, the air was cold and the sky was dark. Being a captain, Hitsugaya had defeated all of the Menos' in front of him with slight ease, freezing them with just a few attacks from his shikai. However, since Hinamori was still a lieutenant, there were a couple of Menos' remaining in front of her, and gaining on the pair rather quickly. But before the kido expert could fire a spell, the form of Hitsugaya appeared in front of her. He raised his left arm, a jolt of pain running up it, but he ignored it and fired the first hado that came into his mind._

"_Hado No. 88, _Hiryūgekizokushintenraihō!"

_Soon, the Menos' were engulfed in a blue, electrical light. When the light finally faded away, they had vanish, utterly defeated, leaving behind a destroyed office and several demolished barraks._

"…_great," Hitsugaya said, sitting down on a tattered chair that was conveniently behind him. The kido itself had used up a fair amount of his reiatsu, and his throbbing left arm wasn't making things much better. Momo bent down, touching his arm lightly with warm fingers. He flinched slightly at the touch as a small current of pain made it's way to his brain. Hearing a soft rustle, the two looked up and saw Ukitake. "What happened here?"_

**~*~*~*~*~ [A/N: End of flashback. (I think you could tell)**

Ukitake looked around, eyes sweeping over the scenery of the demolished division. "Are you OK, Shiro-Hitsugaya-taicho?"

Not wanting to seem helpless to his fellow captain, Hitsugaya quickly stood up, a little quicker than he should have, and quickly sat down again, the breath being knocked out of him the moment he put weight on his feet. "I'm fine," he wheezed slightly. "I used a little more reiatsu than I expected to; that's all."

Momo looked concerned. "But your arm-"

"-is fine," the captain interrupted shortly, hoping that Ukitake wouldn't care too much. Tough luck.

"Shiro-chan, I think you should go see Unohana-taicho," the long haired captain said. "There's blood dripping down your arm…"

"Ch," Hitsugaya snorted, standing up with more success and took a step forward, swaying slightly as his vision blurred.

Hinamori was at the captain's side in an instant, draping his uninjured arm around her shoulders and standing up strait. "Here, Shiro-chan," she said. "I'll take you there. Ukitake taicho, can you report to Yamamoto-sotaicho-dono?"

Ukitake smiled grimly. "Of course," he said. "Get well better soon, Shiro-chan!"

And the three took off in their separate ways, Hinamori and Hitsugaya going slightly slower than they normally would have gone. Halfway to the fourth division, Hinamori suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Sh-Shiro-chan?" she asked, eyes fixed on his. "Why do you protect me like this?"

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><p><strong>Dun dun dun. Well, that was a strange chapter for me to write. This is the longest chapter ever :D I might end this fic in the next chapter, but please tell me your thoughts about it before I actually do. I have a lot more fic ideas to write, and also some oneshots as well D And…Ao no Exorcist episode 24! It was really epic, and I was quite pleased with it. Nurarihyon no Mago? The new episode was OK, I guess, but I still think the manga is better. In my opinion, the anime moves too slow. :P NICHIJOU ENDED. That broke my heart D: Now there's nothing to fuel my randomness anymore. Anyways, the new HunterxHunter episode is coming out quite soon, and I'm <strong>_**really **_**excited. See you next time!**


	6. Protected by Ice

**So I guess I left you guys with kind of a cliff hanger there. Do you like cliff hangers? If you don't, I won't write as many in the future. This fic will definitely end this chapter, but I might write an omake as well, so stay tuned even after this chapter! And also after this, I'll be writing an fanfic sort of challenge/request form ichiruki45, which will be quite interesting D. It's a little late, I know, but it's not six o'clock in all of the places in the world, so I guess it's ok!**

**Enjoy, and I don't own Bleach!**

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><p>Hitsugaya looked up at his childhood friend, teal eyes slightly dark with a bit of exhaustion. Her eyes were serious and not demanding in the slightest, but he somehow still felt a little uncomfortable with answering her question.<p>

"W-well, that's because-"

The captain of the tenth division was quickly cut off as the fukutaicho of the fifth looked into his eyes and realized how tired he was. "Ah, gomen **(A/N: Japanese: sorry)**, Shiro-chan! I shouldn't be asking you questions like this if you're tired. Let's go to the fourth division, and you can answer me when you're ready. OK?"

The small girl started walking once more, being careful of making sure that Hitsugaya wouldn't get his arm even more injured than it was. From her point of view, it didn't look that bad, but the sleeve of his shihakusho was covering it, and the snowy boy was known for being able to hide his pain.

After some time, the two finally reached the fourth division, and Hinamori poked her head into Unohana-taicho and Isane's office, hoping that one of the two would be inside. Instead, there was the seventh seat, Yamada Hanatarou, who was sitting in a seat next to a sizeable wooden desk.

"Um, Yamada-san?" Hinamori said quietly, trying to get the young boy's attention.

His head snapped up immediately. "Yes, what is it?"

"Erm, Hitsugaya-kun was injured while fighting the Gillians that suddenly appeared in the tenth division's quarters," she said after a slight pause. "Could you look at his arm."

Hanatarou stood up, walking over to the two officers. "Of course," he said. "Hitsugaya-taicho, could you come with me to the healing room? Hinamori-fukutaicho, if you could wait outside…"

The brown haired girl nodded, and followed the two boys over to a room across the hall. She sat down on a bench outside, and the two proceeded to step into the room. After the door closed, Momo could hear the faint words of Hanataro, saying: "Now, Hitsugaya-taicho, if you could please sit on this chair…"

oOo

"Yamamoto-sotaicho, do I have permission to enter?"

The voice of Ukitake Jushiro, the captain of the thirteenth division sounded behind the tall wooden doors of the first division's quarters. "Enter," came a commanding and firm voice.

Ukitake stepped into the familiar room, the captain-commander of the Gotei 13 sitting in his usual chair at the far side of the room.

"Sotaicho, I have a report from the tenth division's incident," the captain said, walking to stand right in front of the old man.

"Speak," Yamamoto said, eyes shifting up and staring into the younger man's.

"Yes. Approximately six minutes ago, a high spike in reiatsu was detected by the majority of the Gotei 13. Captains who weren't on a mission or busy were sent to the scene. Upon arriving, I noticed that the Gillians had all been killed, and the reiatsu of both Hitsugaya-taicho and Hinamori-fukutaicho were in the air, symboling that they both had exterminated the menos. Hitsugaya-taicho was injured, so I sent him to the fourth division with Hinamori-fukutaicho. The reason why the Gillians suddenly appeared is still unknown."

"I see," the captain commander said, narrowing if eyes, if that was possible. "Well, go back and gather your division. There's no doubt that some of the tenth will be in shock from the sudden appearance of the menoses. Have some from your division investigate, we have to get down to the bottom of this. You are dismissed."

Bowing in respect, Ukitake turned around and headed for the door, wondering how the chibi taicho of the tenth division was doing.

oOo

Hanataro looked up at the young captain's face as he healed Hitsugaya's arm. _I can't believe he's a captain,_ the seventh seat thought. _And he's shorter than me! I sure hope I'm not thinking out loud, because I heard that Hitsugaya-taicho gets really angry when someone mentions his height…_

Luckily, Hanataro had kept his thoughts silent as he worked on the snowy taicho's arm. Quickly finishing up his healing kido, he retracted his arm and bound Hitsugaya's arm in a small sling.

"That's it, Hitsugaya-taicho," he said, stepping back. The other boy quickly leapt off the small bed and landed on the wooden floor without a sound.

"Thank you," he said gruffly, already heading for the exit.

"Ah, do you have any more injuries? You should rest for a little bit, your reiatsu seems a little weaker than usual…"

Hanataro was quickly proven wrong as the room's temperature dropped at a surprising rate. The dark haired boy stepped back as Hitsugaya walked out of the room and over to Hinamori, who was still sitting on the wooden bench outside. "Let's go, bed-wetter Momo," Hanataro heard the taicho said, and then the two were gone, shumpo-ing away. Sighing, Hanataro walked back across the corridor and back into the fourth division office, waiting for his captain, who was in another room checking up an injured shinigami from the seventh.

oOo

The two childhood friends walked back to the tenth division, this time with Hitsugaya leading the way. "Oy," he said, turning around suddenly. His swift motion made Momo crash into him. But before she could fall the to the floor, the captain of the tenth division stuck out a skinny yet muscular arm and caught her by her waist, easily pulling the small girl (who was actually taller then him) back to her feet, but dangerously close to his face. The fukutaicho quickly turned red and twisted out of his grasp.

"What?" Toshiro asked, oblivious to the face about how close their lips had been to touching.

"O-oh, it's nothing, Shiro-chan…"  
>"Well, if it's nothing, then I don't care. Could we…take a detour to your office for a second?"<p>

Confused, the lieutenant nodded, and then stepped sideways into the fifth division's office, which they just so happened to be passing by.

Once the two were inside the office, Hinamori pulled up a pillow for her friend to sit on. She sat down on another pillow that was in front of the one she had placed for him.

"Here," Shiro-chan," she said. "What did you want to come here for? I hope you're not thinking on finishing my paperwork before going to check on your division."

"T-that's not it!" Hitsugaya replied, his cheeks just the faintest shade of pink. "Before, you asked me a question, r-right?"

Remembering, Momo's cheeks flushed once more, and she looked down at her hands, clenching them into small fists. "Um, yeah…"

"Well, I decided to come in here to answer it," Hitsugaya said, scratching his cheek unselfconsciously. "You wanted an answer as soon as we got out of the fourth division's place, right?"

"Jeez! I didn't say _right after_," Hinamori said, banging her fists lightly on her thighs. "I said as soon as you felt better!"

"Whatever," the ice-wielder continued to say, staring straight into the peach girl's eyes. "W-we're here already, so I'll just answer it quickly and then we can head over to my office… Well, what used to be my office."

"I-I guess you're right," Momo said, also looking into her friend's eyes.

"Well, the reason I protect you like this is…" the boy's voice trailed off.

"What?" Hinamori asked, blinking as she gazed into the icy teal eyes.

"W-we're friends! Good friends! Childhood friends! T-that's why…"

Hinamori's face fell, but only for a nanosecond. "I see," she said, looking up and putting on a smile. "Shiro-chan, you're so serious about everything, aren't you? Whenever you save me, it feels like I'm being protected by ice…"

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><p><strong>Hooray! I actually 'finished' a fic that's pretty decent and got more than 3 reviews! *Dances in happiness* I said 'finished' because I am definitely going to write an omake, because this story just fuels my writing ability like nothing else. After this, I'll write some IchiHitsu one shots and also start the challengerequest fic from ichiruki45 and the Bakuman/Bleach idea that I had :D Looks like I'll be writing a lot more… Anyways, see you in the omake, and maybe in one shots that I publish later on! The omake won't be published next Tuesday, but probably tomorrow so you're fanfiction hearts are satisfied…**

**Bye the way, did you see the new Bleach episode? **SPOILER** Ichigo looses his shinigami powers! **UNSPOILER** I don't know if I'm happy or sad, but this is definitely catching up with the manga. And I'm glad, because the lastes manga chapters were quite epic. Ja ne!**


	7. Omake: A New Year

**So this is the omake and the end of this story~ I'm kind of glad that it's finished, but also kind of sad D:. Anyways, I finally published the first part of that one-shot, which I changed into a two-shot (and isn't completed yet), and I will start the requested story from ichiruki45 as soon as I can, and it might not be on a Tuesday. Enjoy~ π.π And I'm sorry for putting this off for so long, I had promised it to be published last Wednesday, but I didn't have any time DX**

**I don't own Bleach!**

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><p>There were two more minutes until the new year started, and Hitsugaya still had not arrived at the meeting place. Sighing, Hinamori Momo leaned against a tree in the forest of Rukongai, wondering where her childhood friend was. Just as the young shinigami was about to give up and head home, he stepped out of the darkness, an apologetic look on his face.<p>

"Gomen, Hinamori," he said, walking over to her. "Matsumoto suddenly left the office and I had to finish off her paperwork for her."

The lieutenant giggled, and ran a small hand through the captain's soft, white hair. "Jeez, Shiro-chan," she said. "You can save some paperwork for tomorrow! There's no need to finish all today."

"No," the boy said softly, his eyes looking into the brown eyes of his friend. "I'll spend all day tomorrow with you…" His voice trailed off and his cheeks turned the faintest shade of red.

Laughing again, Momo pulled her friend up the tree, which happened to be the tallest tree in the forest, and they both stood on it's strongest branch, which was also the highest branch. From there, the could clearly see the night sky. A few stars twinkled in the inky blackness.

"It's almost time, Shiro-chan!" the fukutaicho exclaimed, smiling down at Hitsugaya.

"Baka, I know," he said. "And don't call me Shiro-chan!"

"But-"

The girl's voice was cut off by a loud bang, and the two looked up to see a large cloud of colorful light spreading across the sky, and then another, and another, each followed by a series of loud noises and shouts from the village below.

"It's so pretty!" Momo said, smiling.

"Yeah," her friend replied, the corners of his mouth turning up just a fraction of an inch. _Like you,_ he wanted to say, but the captain wasn't ready to risk embarrassing himself in front of his childhood friend.

They stood there for a little longer, then Hinamori turned her head sideways to look at Toshiro.  
>"Ne, Shiro-chan, why don't we go see Baa-chan?"<p>

oOo

The two friends had gotten to their grandmother's house in no time, and a certain captain of the tenth division had already reached out a hand to knock on the solid wood of the door.

"Baa-chan!" Hinamori called. "Shiro-chan and I have come to see you!"

Hitsugaya didn't look too pleased about being called by his nickname, but he said nothing.

A few seconds later, the door slid open, and they were greeted by a kind smile. "Oh, Momo-chan and Shiro-chan! Thank you for coming to see me on such a fine New Year's eve! Don't just stand there in the doorway; come in, come in!"

The elderly woman stepped aside to let her grandchildren walk into the house, and they walked into the small kitchen, which was across from the bedroom.

Hitsugaya and Hinamori both sat down at the kotatsu, tucking their legs under it as their grandmother went to go get tea.

"I'll go help Baa-chan," Momo said, standing up and walking over to where their grandmother stood. "Baa-chan, may I carry these cups over to the table?"

The woman nodded, and the girl walked back to the low table, setting the cups down. They were soon joined by their grandmother, who sat down and placed a plate of mochi on the table, smiling at her two grandchildren.

"You two sure have grown," she said, offering them each a mochi, then setting the plate back down on the table. "Are you sure it's okay to come and see me, though? Don't you still have work?"

Both of the officers shook their heads. "I finished mine just before the fireworks started," Hitsugaya explained.

"And when I picked up my brush to do work today, my third seat told me that she would do the paperwork, and I should be celebrating the new year," Momo added.

The old woman smiled warmly. "I'm glad I'm not holding you two back on your work," she said.

The snowy-haired boy smiled a small smile. "Even if we did have work, we'd still come, Baa-chan," he said.

Momo nodded. "That's right! Even if there's work, family is still important!"

And the three talked until the first sunrise of the year began to happen. Hinamori's brown eyes reflected the brilliant sun as it shone through the window in the kitchen. _It's another new year...I wonder if I'll finally be able to confess to Shiro-chan!_

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><p><strong>Well, that sucked. I knew that I was going to have trouble with writing the omake, but I didn't know that it would be this bad. DX And again, I'm sorry for putting it off for so long. So I'll still be writing after this, hope you liked this story and will enjoy everything else I write! D: The option button on my computer suddenly got dirty and I don't know why. Anyways, see you in later writings! I'll rewrite this omake if I have to (I probably will have to <strong>**)…**


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